1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for switching networks. In particular, the present invention relates to a network switching apparatus and method which does not necessitate booting a computer by controlling a power saving mode when the networks are switched.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, in accordance with the development of the computers and communication techniques, information from all parts of the world can be easily obtained through Internet by connecting a computer provided with a communication device to networks.
A conventional network is classified into an internal network connected to a local area network (LAN), and an external network which is a public network connected to Internet. In case of need, a user can separately obtain required information from the internal network or from the external network by connecting the computer to either the internal network or the external network.
Also, in order to secure data maintained in the internal network while using the external network such as Internet for instance, in order to secure the data from hackers invading through the external network, a separate network may be provided wherein the internal network and the external network are not connected together.
In this case, the network switching device provided in the computer, i.e., the network switching device for connecting the internal network to the external network through cables, is connected to a LAN card of the computer, and the networks are selectively connected to the computer by a mechanical switching operation of the switching device, so that the user can obtain diverse information from the computer which is connected to the internal network or the external network.
However, the conventional computer network has the drawbacks in that the computer system should be rebooted for its environmental determination whenever the computer system is switched to a new network. Thus, the user should wait during the rebooting time of the computer system to use the switched network. Also, abrasion of contacts of the switching device may occur due to its frequent mechanical switching operation, and this causes the contact state of the switching device to be degraded, thereby deteriorating an on-line connection function of the switching device.
It is an object of the present invention to solve the problemsinvolved in the related art, and to provide a network switching apparatus and method which performs an electronic network switching operation by directly changing an Internet protocol (IP) address according to the kind of the network using a power saving mode provided in the operating system, and thus does not necessitate booting a computer for its environmental determination even if the network is switched.
In one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a network switching apparatus for connecting a plurality of networks to a computer system, comprising:
a switching section for selecting at least one of the networks; and
a control section for communicating with the network selected by the switching section, identifying a kind of the selected network, and performing a control operation using a power saving mode of the system so that the selected network can be used without booting the computer system connected to the selected network when it is identified that the network is switched and selected.
In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a network switching method for performing a control operation so that a computer system is connected to and communicates with at least one of a plurality of networks, the method comprising the steps of:
identifying a kind of a connected network and communication type of the computer system connected to the network;
storing identified information in the computer system to consider the information when the network is switched;
applying the information on the switched network to an operating system of the computer system in accordance with a power saving mode of the computer system if the network is switched; and
using the switched network without booting the computer system by the operating system to which the information on the switched network is applied.